The core idea of project-based learning is thosethat real-world problems capture students' interest and provoke serious thinking as the students acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem-solving context. The teacher plays the role of facilitator, working with students to frame worthwhile questions, structuring meaningful tasks, coaching both knowledge development and social skills, and carefully assessing what students have learned from the experience. Typical projects present a problem to solve (What is the best way to reduce the pollution in the schoolyard pond?) or a phenomenon to investigate (What causes rain?). Project-based learning replaces other traditional models of instruction such as lectures, textbook-workbook-driven activities and inquiry as the preferred delivery method for key topics in the curriculum. It is an instructional framework that allows teachers to facilitate and assess deeper understanding rather than stand and deliver factual information. Project-based learning intentionally develops students' problem-solving and the creative making of products to communicate a deeper understanding of key concepts and mastery of 21st-century essential learning skills such as critical thinking. Students become active digital researchers and assessors of their own learning when teachers guide student learning so that students learn from the project-making processes. In this context, Project-based learning is units of self-directed learning from students' doing or making throughout the unit. Project-based learning is not just "an activity" (project) that is stuck at the end of a lesson or unit.<ref>{{cite web|date=2022-04-02|title=How to use Project-Based Learning approach to build learning environments |url=https://www.teachfloor.com/blog/how-to-use-project-based-learning-approach-to-build-learning-environments|website=teachfloor.com}}</ref>
